Saturday, January 28, 2006

Paddy Ashdown Aide Tears up LibDem Membership after 30 Years

What a great afternoon! West Ham wallop Blackburn 4-2 and another senior LibDem resigns from the Party. Who might this be you ask? Well, I'm not going to name them because of this person's current work, but they worked as a senior adviser (and I mean senior) to Paddy Ashdown in the mid 1990s and had been a Liberal member for 30 years. I also have the pleasure of his/her company in the next seat to me at West Ham home games. So in between goals from Teddy Sheringham & Co we had a good old chinwag about this week's events. I'd better make clear that the person in question is not Alan Leman, another Paddy Ashdown veteran, who sits two rows in front of us! My friend is already toying with the idea of joining the Conservatives as he/she has been very impressed by what DC has achieved in his first seven weeks. You can guess what we'll be talking about next Saturday when Sunderland are the visitors at Upton Park. And it won't just be about Dean Ashton's transfer fee!

6 comments:

Who apparently joined the LibDems a year ago! So desperate are the LibDems that they've persuaded the old codger to come out of the closet after twelve months. Simon Hughes has obviously started a trend! Isn't it amazing what people do when they come off second best in selection contests?

Sir Cyril Townsend - hardly a household name, maybe not even a household name in his own household. Still nice to know the old codger managed to pick up a knighthood befor sh@@ing (sorry doing 'an Oaten') on the party.

I accept that Townsend is not a household name, but when the Tories, over a month after their 'come and join us' speech can only persuade a former PPC, bitter at his local party and totally unheard of among the public, to come over, I would say that is quite desperate too. At least Townsend has a long history as an MP.

Look at all those MPs, AMs, MSPs and councillors flocking from us to the Tories- remind me how many in the last month please.

You mean to say that Townsend himself was not bitter at losing the Conservative nomination to David Evennett for Bexleyheath & Crayford in 1997?

As Iain has said, Townsend has been known to be a Lib Dem for quite some time. He seconded David Walter's nomination papers for the Liberal Democrats in Torridge and West Devon during the general election and has been known to turn up at various Lib Dem socials.

David Walter lost Torridge and West Devon by more than 3,000 votes. It seems Sir Cyril has a tendency for backing losers, does it not?